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Why should I choose Red Cross Certified
Instruction?
The Red Cross is
the national leader in safety instruction. Red Cross
training meets or exceeds all OSHA standards in each course
specialty. Further, Red Cross safety courses are designed as
a part of an integrated whole, so that a comprehensive training
plan can be designed for your organization.
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Automated
External Defibrillators
Why are Automated
External Defibrillators in the news so much?
In the time it
takes you to read this page, sudden cardiac arrest will have
claimed another victim. In the past year 250,000 Americans
died of sudden cardiac arrest: nearly one death every two
minutes. Up to 100,000 of these deaths could have been prevented
if someone had initiated the Cardiac Chain of Survival and an
automated external defibrillator (AED) had been available for
immediate use at the time of the emergency.
Our mission at
APSTA is to support the Red Cross in its goal to make our
community a better place through safety training. We
provide the same Red Cross Certified training as local Red Cross
chapters, but are focused on providing our clients with the most
flexible range of services and the most convenient way of having
those services delivered.
Defibrillators
have been in the news because they have been so effective when
they have been available and people have been trained to use them.
In areas where early access defibrillation programs were put into
effect, such as Seattle, Washington, the survival rate jumped to
30-40%.
Nine out of ten
people will die without early access to defibrillation.
Every minute it takes EMS to arrive, the person's chance of
survival goes down ten percent. The national
survival rate on the average is only five percent.
That is why the
Red Cross is committed to making AEDs as prevalent in our
communities as fire extinguishers. The American Red Cross has a
vision of all Americans being within 4 minutes of an AED and
someone trained to use it in the event of sudden cardiac arrest.
We here at APSTA are proud to assist the Red Cross in making this
vision a reality.
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Why is Red Cross
AED training effective?
American Red
Cross courses combine CPR training with instruction in automated
external defibrillation; the two skills needed to save the life of
a sudden cardiac arrest victim. Currently, AED training is
an integral part of our Adult CPR/AED and Standard First Aid
courses.
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Can APSTA assist in
the purchase of an AED?
APSTA does not
sell AEDs. We will be happy to put you in contact with
our own provider, or to put you in touch with another provider of
your choice.
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What is an AED?
An AED is a
small portable device that delivers a shock to the heart of
someone suffering from cardiac arrest -- a condition in which the
heart stops beating. These lifesaving devices prompt the
rescuer verbally and visually along, step-by-step, and will tell
the rescuer exactly when to deliver a shock if necessary.
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Why should I choose Red Cross Certified
Instruction?
The Red Cross is
the national leader in safety instruction. Red Cross
training meets or exceeds all OSHA standards in each course
specialty. Further, Red Cross safety courses are designed as
a part of an integrated whole, so that a comprehensive training
plan can be designed for your organization.
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How does an AED
Work?
An AED is easy
to operate. It uses voice prompts to instruct the rescuer.
Once the machine is turned on, the rescuer will be prompted to
apply two electrodes provided with the AED to the victim's chest.
Once applied, the AED will begin to monitor the victim's heart
rhythm. If a "shockable" rhythm is detected, the
machine will charge itself and instruct the rescuer to stand clear
of the victim and to press the shock button.
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If
an AED is so easy to use, why do I need training?
Training is
necessary in order to understand the role of defibrillation in the
broader context of the cardiac chain of survival. Training
in CPR and AED skills will enable the rescuer to use all the steps
in the cardiac chain of survival, thereby significantly increasing
the victim's chance of survival. All 50 states now have AED
Good Samaritan provisions that help protect laypersons.
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What is the Cardiac
Chain of Survival?
The cardiac
chain of survival is a series of four critical steps. All
four steps of the chain must be present to help ensure survival
from sudden cardiac arrest. The four steps are:
Step 1: Early access to care (911 or other
emergency number)
Step 2: Early cardiopulmonary resuscitation
(CPR)
Step 3: Early defibrillation
Step 4: Early advanced cardiac life support as
needed
The third step,
delivering an electrical shock to the heart, which is known as
defibrillation, is recognized as the most critical step in
restoring cardiac rhythm and resuscitating a victim of SCA.
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Bloodborne
Pathogens
What is the OSHA
Bloodborne Pathogens Standard?
On December 6,
1991, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
promulgated the Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens
Standard. This standard is designed to protect
approximately 5.6 million workers from the risk of exposure to
bloodborne pathogens, such as the Human Immunodeficiency Virus and
the Hepatitis B Virus.
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Who is covered by
the OSHA standard?
The OSHA
standard applies to all employees who may have occupational
exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM).
Occupational exposure is defined as "reasonably anticipated
skin, eye, mucous membrane, or parenteral contact with blood or
OPIM that may result from the performance of the employee's
duties. Blood is defined as human blood, human blood
components, and products made from human blood.
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Which employees in
my organization must be trained?
All employees
with occupational exposure must receive initial and annual
training.
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Should part-time
and temporary employees be trained?
Part-time and
temporary employees are covered and are also to be trained on
company time.
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Who has the
responsibility for training workers employed by agencies which
provide personnel to other employers?
OSHA considers
personnel providers, who send their own employees to work at other
facilities, to be employers whose employees may be exposed to
hazards. Since personnel providers have a continued
relationship with their employees, but another employer creates
and controls the hazard, there is a shared responsibility for
assuring that your employees are protected from workplace hazards.
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What is included in
the training record?
The training
record contains the dates of the training, the contents or a
summary of the training sessions, the names and job titles of all
persons attending the training, and the names and qualifications
of the persons conducting the training.
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How long must the
training records be kept?
Training records
must be retained for 3 years from the training date.
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Disclaimer:
The purpose
of this page of FAQs is to provide answers to some of the more
commonly asked questions related to AEDs and the Bloodborne
Pathogens Standard. It
is not intended to be used as a substitute for the standard's
requirements, nor for the advice of an attorney. Please refer to the OSHA Standard and other applicable laws
for a more comprehensive analysis.
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